Truths Unveiled in the Leaf Village

Leaf Village had remained peaceful, as Sasuke's defection never occurred like in the original story. Sasuke apologized to Naruto, and Naruto apologized in return, restoring their friendly rivalry. "Jin... thanks to you, Sasuke, who was wavering, has found his center again. How did you do it?" Kakashi asked me how I'd changed Sasuke, and I answered with a smile.

"I simply told him the truth." "The truth??" "Yes. No matter the intention, hiding the truth while trying to guide someone down the right path is contradictory. Kakashi, Naruto also endured a difficult childhood without knowing the truth. I understand the Third Hokage's reasoning for keeping it hidden, but it was wrong."

"How do you even know that...?!" "How could I not? The Nine-Tails' jinchuriki... it's not something just anyone can be, and the Uzumaki surname isn't exactly common, is it?" "That's true, but the Third Hokage..." "No! It's clearly the Third Hokage's mistaken judgment. No, the Third turned all the blame toward Naruto and made him suffer treatment worse than that of a public enemy."

Kakashi wanted to defend the Third but couldn't find the words. "If it was truly for Naruto's sake, why hide the fact that he's the Fourth Hokage's son while revealing he's the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki? Wouldn't it have been better for Naruto to know he's the Fourth's son and hide the jinchuriki part instead? And where's the Fourth's inheritance? Why does Naruto have to live in a rundown house drinking expired milk?"

As I spoke, I grew heated despite not having experienced it myself, and I pressed Kakashi hard. "This isn't just the Third's fault. It's the fault of every adult in this village. No matter how much they needed a target for their anger, how could they torment a child like that? Kakashi... you're just as unqualified! While teaching the kids that abandoning comrades makes you trash?"

"......" "If you truly want to be their teacher, tell Naruto the truth, apologize, gather everyone even now, and reveal everything. And punish those who aren't free from responsibility." I stopped there and decided to watch how Kakashi would handle it, leaving him deep in thought as I went to meet Hinata and Ino.

"Talking about it just pisses me off. This trash village... if I weren't a ninja here, I'd wipe it all out." "Leaf Village can't be helped sometimes." "What's Kakashi gonna do?" "No matter what Kakashi tries, the old geezers at the top are stubborn..."

I met Hinata and Ino, helped with their training, had dinner together, and returned to my room. Flutter! Then the crow I'd seen before, Itachi's, appeared at my window. It tried to cast genjutsu with its Sharingan again, but I didn't resist so my mental resistance wouldn't activate.

Three days later... I imagined Danzo's abilities and ran image training on how to take him down.

While discussing with viewers, I researched ways to kill Danzo. The next day, Naruto and Sasuke came to find me, whining to train together. I sighed, called Hinata and Ino as well, trained them all, and spent time doing one-on-one sparring. While eating lunch, Sasuke asked about the plan. I thought having Sasuke involved would create variables, so I lied and said it was in a week. Worried Danzo might target Sasuke, I went to Kakashi and Guy and asked them to protect him. They asked what was going on.

"Orochimaru won't give up on Sasuke just because he failed once. I'd like you two and Jiraiya to watch over him." They agreed without suspicion, and I told Sasuke not to be alone for a while. I spent time experimenting with a skill, and the day to meet Danzo arrived.

"Itachi, what the hell is this?!" Danzo shouted, confronting Itachi. Itachi warned Danzo and bought time. "The reason I killed my clan and lived as a rogue under your threats and orders was because of your promise not to touch my brother. The Third Hokage knew about our deal and said he'd monitor you while protecting my brother, but now that the Third is dead, I've only come to warn you once more."

"Hmph! Haven't I kept my promise? Calling me out for such nonsense—if this gets out to the village...!" Slash! "Aaaaargh!" Hidden, I slowly approached Danzo, drew the Assassin's Claw, and swung from above, severing the shoulder of the arm embedded with Sharingan. Thud! I kicked the severed arm toward Itachi. Itachi quietly seethed as he looked at the arm covered in countless Sharingan of his clan at his feet.

"As expected, unless it's Sharingan or Byakugan, they can't detect [Stealth]!" "You bastard?! Betraying me, an elder of the village!" Eight Gates, Sixth Gate [Gate of View] Renewal [Threefold Revolving Axe] Thud! Thud! Thud! Without answering, I slammed the Threefold Revolving Axe into his head. Danzo, sent flying by the blow, tried to rise, but his brain was rattled and his legs gave out momentarily. I kicked his legs out from under him, then used my hand to extract Shisui's Sharingan.

"Aaaaargh! No!! Not... not that eye!!!" "Don't covet something that isn't yours, you trash." I put the Sharingan into my inventory. The Root ANBU, slow to react to the sudden events, rushed in to save Danzo.

Already furious, Itachi shed tears of blood and burned them. Only a few managed to barely escape. One of them blew a flute to call for reinforcements. "Haa~ ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Itachi, this is a secret." Shing!Whoosh! For the first time in the Naruto world, I drew my Zanpakuto. Not just the blade but my entire body wreathed in flames, I swung it. Fwoooosh!Whoosh! "Aaaaargh!" "Aaaargh!" In an instant, I dealt with the remaining Root ninjas. In the distance, countless ninjas were rushing toward us.

Looking at the many ninjas running toward us, I turned to Itachi. "Itachi, could you take Danzo and fall back for a moment?" At my words, Itachi cast Tsukuyomi on Danzo, picked up the severed arm, and retreated. Bankai [Zanka no Tachi]

Shhhhhhk! The red flames engulfing my body instantly condensed into the blade as if disappearing. Heat haze rose from the sword, and I felt a burning pain in the hand holding the Zanpakuto as I swung Zanka no Tachi at the approaching enemies. Zanka no Tachi + Heavenly Demon Divine Art [Heavenly Demon Cataclysm]

Boom!!!!! The ground split, the sky split, and the forest vanished. Nothing remained before me. "Gulp gulp! Whew~ I almost died." I released Bankai and drank a recovery potion from my inventory. The burns on my hand disappeared instantly.

I turned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my head and walked toward Itachi. "You... if you're that strong, why bother with a surprise attack?" Smiling at Itachi, who looked at me with an incredulous—no, fearful—expression, I said, "That's how I get the eyes. Besides, Izanagi is too much of a variable. That's why I dealt with the arm first. And Shisui's eye is dangerous too. It's only natural to eliminate risks before fighting, right?" He chuckled. "[You're right.]" Then he woke Danzo.

Danzo flew into a rage, cursing and condemning us. "You bastards are threats to the village! I should've killed you all!!" Hearing this, Itachi tried to kill Danzo. I stopped him, and Itachi asked me, "Why do you want to keep him alive?" "Huh? I didn't say to keep him alive. We can't let him die so easily. We need to extract information and make him suffer before he dies." "Information?" "The Sharingan here. Is this all Danzo has?" "!!!" "There must be more. Since Shisui entrusted his eyes to me, the rest should at least have a proper funeral."

Seeming slightly moved, Itachi gave a nod with his eyes and tortured Danzo for information. A few hours later, Danzo was left barely alive. I kept feeding him potions in between so he wouldn't die, but his severed arm and leg didn't return. "By the way, good thing I turned off the stream. Even with the [shonen manga] filter, this is a bit..." I'd had some experience, so this time I proceeded with the stream off. Having obtained all the information, we parted ways there. Itachi said he'd gather all the eyes and hold a funeral, while I returned to the village to prepare to spread word of Danzo's atrocities.

Back in the village, I went to find Kakashi. Showing up late at night with a serious expression, I made Kakashi tense. "Have you thought about it?" "Tsunade, Jiraiya, and I have decided to go to Naruto, tell him the truth, and apologize." "It's already late, but we have to do it now. Naruto's a good kid—he never hated the villagers even after all the bullying and persecution at the village level. The villagers all need to apologize to someone like that." "Yeah, you're right. We should do it now... I don't know if I can face Naruto."

"That's your responsibility. I'll be going now!" A few days later, the village was in an uproar. "The area near the Valley of the End has been completely destroyed! And charred bodies were found nearby, confirmed to be Root ANBU!" Tsunade, upon receiving the report, immediately searched for Danzo and learned he hadn't returned since saying he'd be away a few days prior. "We have to assume Danzo was taken out too? Charred bodies... whose doing do you think it was?" At Tsunade's question, the reporting ninja said, "Not many can use such a wide-range Fire Style. I suspect the rogue ninja Uchiha Itachi!" Jiraiya refuted the opinion. "No, even his Fire Style wouldn't reach that level. His black flames might be possible, but no trace of those flames was found."

"Dispatch an investigation team immediately to find even the smallest clue. Raise the village's alert level to maximum! That's all!" "Yes!" A few days later, Danzo's body wasn't found, but the elders, assuming he was dead, were furious. However, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and other ninjas didn't react strongly. That evening, I went to see Tsunade. "Tsunade." "Yeah, what is it?" "I have the truth to tell you." Seeing my unsmiling face, she put on a serious expression and offered me a seat. I told her everything about Itachi, the Uchiha clan, and Danzo, including Hiruzen's involvement. Tsunade frowned in confusion. "Is that true? No... even if it is, how do you know?"

When I said I'd found out by chance, she slammed the desk. "Bang! You're claiming a mid-level ninja could just happen to know this information??" Tsunade shouted, but I coldly stared at her and replied, "Does it matter how I found out? More than the fact that the village's upper echelons committed such acts? If you think I'm lying, investigate the elders. They know the facts too." With that, I turned to leave, but at the door I said, "Danzo and the village leadership are criminals. Criminals who wiped out an entire clan out of their own stubbornness... And the Third Hokage is an accomplice who knew and did nothing. On top of that, what happened to Naruto... None of them deserve respect. I hope you're different."

After saying that, I left the Hokage's office. Tsunade's legs gave out and she collapsed in despair, praying that the actions of the teacher she'd respected weren't true... But she stood up again, summoned the ANBU, and investigated the elders. Everything I'd said proved true. In the noisy conference room, jonin and above along with representatives from each clan had gathered. "So what do you want us to do now?! Reveal it even now and brag that our village has been doing trashy things all this time?! Let's just cover it up!" "Don't you have a conscience?! How can you say that? We were deceived, but what we've done has caused them irreparable harm!"

They began shouting and arguing. Tsunade's head started to hurt. "Jiraiya, what do you think...?" "I'm all for revealing the truth. People will be confused, but if we pretend not to know, this village will rot even more." Tsunade pondered briefly, then gave her opinion. "I agree with revealing the truth about the previous generation's mistakes." "Hokage! There could be chaos in the village..." "Bang!!" Tsunade slammed the desk and glared at the clan head who'd interrupted, then continued. "Quiet!! Listen to the end."

"Danzo and the elders attacked the Uchiha, assuming it would cause chaos! Do you think your clans will be safe if something like this happens again? And the Fourth Hokage sacrificed his life to protect the village! Yet his son Naruto was only known as the jinchuriki who destroyed the village, not the son of the hero who saved it!! Do you think the ninjas who know this will risk their lives fighting for the village?" At Tsunade's cry, everyone fell silent, heads bowed. Tsunade looked around at them. "All elders are relieved of their positions and confined to their homes! Also, gather the villagers in the square! I will personally reveal the truth and apologize! In the ninja academy, we'll conduct character education alongside training. Skilled ninjas are important, but first we raise them as proper people. Make sure to pass this on to each clan! The clan heads' responsibility isn't small either, so take responsibility and educate your clan members! That's all!"

A few days later, the villagers learned what the Third Hokage and the village leadership had done. At first they didn't believe it, but seeing the Hokage herself come out to reveal the truth and apologize, they began to believe. The village began large-scale character education, and some people went to apologize to Naruto, but many still felt ashamed of their past and didn't step forward. Naruto... was shocked to learn he wasn't a monster but the son of the Fourth Hokage, the village hero, and broke down in tears upon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠receiving the scarf his late mother had knitted for him. But a few days later, Naruto appeared energetic again, declaring he'd become a hero who saves the village like his father, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Fourth Hokage. Seeing that, I felt proud.

Finally, Itachi, who had been a rogue ninja, officially returned to the village, and his rogue ninja record was deleted. "Hehe! All the truth has come out and it's been resolved well!" "Except for the part where you and I killed Danzo and the Root ninjas." "Shh, I'll talk about that later, so keep it a secret for now." "Yeah... thanks, Jin. Thanks to you, I could return to the village." "There will be a lot to do from now on, Itachi." "From now on..." "Here, take this." I handed him a recovery potion. "I don't know if it'll work. It won't cure the illness... but it should be able to replenish your depleted stamina. And get treated by Tsunade. You have to try." "Thank you..." Saying that, he bowed to me and left, saying he'd watch over Sasuke's training. I watched him go and ended Play Life.